Change can happen in any industry and comes in many forms: political, regulatory, social and technological. Change can be challenging to navigate. It also presents itself as an opportunity for leaders who know how to adapt and recognize it, even when it’s controversial.

How can business leaders spot the difference between courting controversy and gettin

The SockIt, the world’s first light-up, wearable device that teaches young soccer players to kick with correct technique, has captured the notice of such television shows as "Shark Tank," "Toy Box" and "Million Dollar Inventor." Kevin Harrington, founder of As Seen on TV and one of the original investors on the ABC series "Shark Tank," has teamed up with The SockIt to introduce this product to young soccer players and their parents.

The SockIt was born in the 2012–2013 soccer season when Joe Briganti’s daughters, Natalia, 6, and Briana, 5, started to play club soccer. Like many young players, Briganti’s daughters and the other kids on the team kicked the ball with their toes. The coach would stop practice and show them how to kick their shoe laces, toe pointed down. But the kids would inevitably continue “toe poking.” Not a soccer player himself, Briganti nonetheless understood the frustration of the kids, other parents and coaches.

“As a parent, watching your child fail to kick soccer balls for years is tough to watch,” said Joe Briganti, The SockIt inventor.

The SockIt, an acronym that stands for Soccer Kicking Interactive Trainer, is a colorful loop that slips over the player’s kicking shoe. When kids kick the ball correctly, the soccer-ball-shaped top of the SockIt lights up, letting players know, in real time, that their kicking technique is correct. The SockIt comes in four colors: Rocket Orange, Smashing Yellow, Attacker Blue and Striker Pink.

“People don’t even know the solution exists, but they certainly know the problem exists,” said Briganti. “Our goal is for The SockIt to catch on. We want parents to realize soccer can be fun, for them and for their child.”

A portion of all proceeds from The SockIts purchased goes to St. Jude Children’s Hospital for cancer research.

About The SockIt The SockIt is an interactive, light-up kicking device designed to improve players’ soccer game, allowing them to level up on form, power, and technique. The light-up device improves wearers’ kicking technique by lighting up when the ball is kicked correctly. It is made from industrial strength thermal plastic rubber and can withstand shock, impact, and other extreme conditions. Quite simply, it’s made to be kicked, and kicked again. It has six LEDs powered by a replaceable lithium battery and is one size fits all. “Light Up Your Shot, Turn on Your Game!”

Millennials are making waves. As a generation, they are redefining what a successful career is, with a focus on flexible and fulfilling work, and millennials are not afraid to make financial sacrifices in order to stay true to these values. With this in mind, combined with the fact that many millennial men and women are unable to find desirable jobs upon entering the workforce, it’s no surprise that entrepreneurship appeals to many millennials.

Do marketing agencies take on the personalities of their founders? In my experience with marketing agencies, I’ve noticed that an agency’s persona tends to echo the personality of the founder. When I began searching for confirmation of this observation, the internet failed me. There were no conclusive studies on this topic. So, I did the next best thing and went to the agencies, themselves. I interviewed 70 different agencies, and 66 out of the 70 confirmed my hypothesis. Whether it was an SEO agency, creative agency, web design agency, or full-funnel marketing agency – the answers were much the same:

Looking to start your 2019 business year right and increase your productivity levels? Then you’ve come to the right place. Being efficient in your work is one of the best ways to scale up, both in your personal and business life. In other words, if you truly want to get better at a subject or improve your business – you should be focusing on the quality of your work, and not the quantity. There are many different productivity techniques and ways to increase your efficiency, but at the end of the day, it’s all about your singular focus. Being able to channel your laser focus into one task at a time is one of the best ways to get more things done. And if you want to learn other ways to increase your efficiency in 2019 – be sure to read on.

I interviewed 121 entrepreneurs to find out what the most loved marketing tools are for startups. And while I wasn’t surprised to see Slack, MailChimp, Instagram, or Ahrefs on the list, some of the tools mentioned or not-mentioned did surprise me.

When she was younger, Eleanor assumed she’d be living comfortably on a combination of her husband’s pension and social security when she was 75. Instead, she relies on the assistance programs, and the local food bank and Meals on Wheels program for meals. Eleanor has to budget every penny, and if it weren’t for help, she wouldn’t be able to cover the costs of medication, utilities, groceries, and housing. Her husband—who’s gone now—lost his job before he was fully vested in his pension, and her social security checks don’t cover her living expenses.

Since 2006, TOMS has been a popular name when the discussion turns to brands that support social causes. TOMS' social cause is more than providing footwear -- it includes initiatives to help provide clean water, eyewear, medical procedures and safe births, local jobs, education and training. It's a robust business model that has helped the company achieve success.

It begs the question: In the digital age, do companies need a social cause to thrive?

The advent of cloud storage has surfaced the easiest and most cost-effective data storage options for businesses in recent years. It’s no longer entirely necessary for organizations to invest in resource heavy, on-premise or remote storage space to house data. And that can alleviate a lot of strain on the wallet for a business, especially for small-to-medium companies.

The past decade has felt more like a century in terms of advancements in enterprise computing, networking, virtualization and storage capabilities. From the prominence of Amazon Web Services’ pioneering public cloud platform to the process-unifying concept of DevOps, the exponential growth of these technologies has greatly impacted business’ ability to react, deliver and drive innovation in their industries.

Most companies think of customer service as a necessary cost center that drags down bottom-line profitability. They budget only the minimum required to protect the company’s bottom line and they don't invest in the type of innovation necessary to maintain the company’s competitive advantage over the long term.

Banks have to be careful about how much they lend and to whom. When you ask for a loan, lenders aren’t just seeing you as a risk for their business: You’re a risk for the economy as a whole.

From my experience, I have seen a lot of agencies bootstrap their businesses – either in fear of accumulating debt or a misunderstanding of options. While bootstrapping is safe, it is not the only option. At Fox

If you were to ask any leading salesperson what the key to their success entails, you would probably hear a variety of strategies for many industries. But the one thing they all likely share is an appreciation for building solid, genuine relationships with their customers. Business guru Zig Ziglar once said, “If people like you they will listen to you, but if they trust you they'll do business with you.”

If you want to develop strong relationships with your business owner friends, here are four ways to strengthen those contacts.

“If you make customers unhappy in the physical world, they might each tell 6 friends. If you make customers unhappy on the Internet, they can each tell 6,000 friends,” said Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. When it comes to the Internet, your social media presence will be your best defence.

Making sure your social media strategy is hitting the mark can be hard. Between the ever-growing number of platforms, threat of bad PR, different strategies for different niches, and a wide plethora of tactics to engage your audience—social media can get a bad rap for being complex. Fortunately, becoming a thought leader, gaining leads, and building your brand with social can be simplified into four digestible pieces.

As the technology for 3D printing objects advances, we will see it become a more practical, efficient and cost-effective solution for developing our everyday products. With this advancement, we will begin to see a wider array of materials — including plastics, ceramics and metals — that will completely transform the time spent making products and the manner in which businesses sell those products.

Anyone who runs a service-based company understands that the reason a client chooses your service rather than a competitor is because they believe you have something to offer that your competitors don't. They buy into your messaging, your mission, your vision or you as an individual, not because you are more equipped than your competitor, but because they believe in who you are and what you stand for. As Simon Sinek has said, "People don't buy what you do; they buy why you do it."

Running an agency can be one of the most complex and rewarding experiences in the business realm. From dealing with siloes and communication breakdowns on individual teams to high-turnover employees rates, profit margins, and difficult clients, you can hope every morning that you won't have to put out any fires that day.

The tech and marketing industries have been pioneers for advancing the workplace, from better benefits and diversity advancement, to creating technologies that change the way we work. The real question is, can these industries be the driving force for equal pay for women as well?

Especially if your company experiences long buyer’s journeys, understanding the various stages of your sales funnel is vital. Generating a lead, for example, means little if that lead never ends up qualified enough for a sales pitch. And even within the qualified framework, there are important nuances to consider.

Last October, we took the company to Boston for Inbound, HubSpot's marketing conference. The trip – a reward for our staff for hitting a revenue goal – was intended to allow our employees to learn more about marketing and enjoy Boston.

Lead generation is at or near the top of many marketers’ goal lists. In fact, it is at once the top priority for B2B content marketers, and the biggest challenge. If you get leads into your database reliably, you can target them more effectively with sales pitches and nurturing efforts.

Given this priority and importance, marketers and sales departments can rely on a variety of lead sources to fill their database. All of them come with a number of advantages and disadvantages. But if your goal is to get qualified sales leads, only one of these options is actually viable for your business.

Digital marketing can be complex. With so many different tools, apps, platforms, channels, and integrations – finding the best solutions can be a daunting task. So we compiled a list of the easiest, cheapest, most user-friendly marketing materials every digital marketer should be taking advantage of. You’re welcome.

Lead generation is at or near the top of many marketers’ goal lists. In fact, it is at once the top priority for B2B content marketers, and the biggest challenge. If you get leads into your database reliably, you can target them more effectively with sales pitches and nurturing efforts.

Given this priority and importance, marketers and sales departments can rely on a variety of lead sources to fill their database. All of them come with a number of advantages and disadvantages. But if your goal is to get qualified sales leads, only one of these options is actually viable for your business.

Customer churn is inevitable. But when you're delivering phenomenal results for clients and they suddenly start heading for the exit, it becomes puzzling and feels very personal. What could you possibly be doing to spark that vote of no confidence?

Every business has been through some version of this disappointment. But at my company, a holistic digital marketing agency, it seemed to be happening on a monthly basis. Still, we went on as though it weren’t happening, avoiding any attempt to get to the bottom of the problem.

Inbound marketing can be so simple. You create content that your audience finds worthy of giving you their contact information, place it behind a sign up page, and promote it through social media, email, blogs, and SEO. Then, you nurture the leads you generate on their way to becoming customer.

But the whole concept falls apart like a house of cards when you don’t get the landing page right. Even the best marketing tactics matter little if the page on which your audience should convert doesn’t actually convince them to do so. Are you getting the most out of your landing pages? Here are some inbound marketing tips and tricks that can help you maximize your lead generation success.

We will not be silent, Donald Trump.

Congratulations, Mr. President elect.

Yesterday, today, and for an unforeseeable future— America is bleeding.Through conjuring up our ancestral demons, you have digressed the human race. By stirring up our demons of racism, hatred, prejudice, and elitism — your message has evoked the evils of our past.

After months of going to work, coming home to immediately drowning myself in vodka, and then waking up to do it again - I knew something had to give. Now don't get me wrong - my ex is a great man. He’s an excellent father, he’s charming and charismatic, and a hell of lot of fun.

However, here’s the problem: We were toxic for each other, and we both deserved more. We brought out each other's worsts and we brought each other down. The best decision we made was to split. And that’s okay.

This past year has been a particularly interesting and introspective year for me. My experience of being a “single mother” has been unique. Since I have a seasoned career, I have been blessed to not be strapped financially after divorce. And while divorce is never easy, I’ve had it easy - comparably speaking.

However, I also learned though that no matter what the situation for divorce is - the stigmas are still there. And they’re very real.